Milwaukee M18- looking for feedback from owners

[Brian Lefort]

We used to use Makita in our construction company. Got tired of the platform changing. I have held off for a while switching, but recently gone with Milwaukee. Reason is work was done at my dad's house 2 yrs ago (whole house generator installed). Dad passed away a few months ago, and I have been cleaning out the cellar. I came across a milwaukee flashlight with the double sized M18 battery. Turned it on, and it worked. hit the battery charge tester, and it was 50%!. 2 years in his cellar sold me.

[Bill Dindner]

I have a few m18 products, really like the Fuel Circ Saw and the Surge impact. I don't care for the Fuel Hammer/ Drill/ driver, it's powerful but the clutch is so imprecise it's basically useless on soft woods like construction grade lumber. If I had to start over, I'd likely try another brand, maybe Bosch.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

UPDATE: I am now officially a Milwaukee addict. Let me say first- I respect that there are great tools out there from many different manufacturers, but I have to say Milwaukee has an amazing lineup with the need only to buy two types of batteries- the M12 and the M18. As mentioned in the original post, I have had an issue with the switch on the M12, but also I totally abuse them, so I wasn't ready to write Milwaukee off just yet. I'm glad I did not. I ended up getting the M18 hammer drill and impact driver set. As you all may know, I recently rode out two hurricanes. That drill and driver was able to board up my house, my neighbor's house, and help boarding up yet another neighbor's house, all on one charge. They are amazing tools, very well built, and very well thought out. I ended up also getting the 7 1/4" saw, and have now on order the SDS Plus rotary hammer (I live in a stone house- even to hang a picture requires a tough drill), the impact wrench, and am soon going to order the portable deep cut bandsaw.

Also, I bought for the storm an array of LED lights that use the M12 batteries, as well as the M18 radio. Those things quite literally were lifesavers, as they carried us through the storm, and have now carried us through almost two months without power. I charge up the lights with the generator, and then shut down the generator and use the M12 LED's for lights. One floodlight lights up a room to the point you forget that the power is off. Also these have been rained on a few times and although I do not believe they are supposed to be waterproof, they have withstood me leaving them on the porch when a torrential rain came along.

I do have other brands of tools, but have converted all my cordless tools to Milwaukee and am very pleased with them. I am just posting this update for anyone that might be searching through the archives and come along the post. Go with the Milwaukee M18 and you will not be sorry. The M12 lineup is also excellent. The M18 tools come with a charger that will charge M18 and M12, which is very handy. The main advantage for the M12 is the lightweight. Some tools, like the clamp meter (which I also just ordered) uses the M12 because they don't need a lot of power. So you will probably end up with some of both. Most of their portable lights use the M12. The M12 6.0AH battery pack will power their LED flood light through a whole evening, which for me means 6PM to around 10 PM, with power to spare. Usually after that they are on two of four "blips" on the battery indicator. As for the M12 drills, I love them for their light weight, but living in a stone and concrete house I kind of abuse them. Now that I have upgraded to M18, I am reserving the M12's for drilling holes in wood in the shop and when I need a lightweight drill, like when balancing on a ladder.

[Andrew Joiner]

I followed your hurricane experiences with Milwaukee tools Malcolm. I bet if you tell the Milwaukee company your story they may sponsor you or donate to your community. If they read your posts about their tools being lifesavers to you and your neighbors, they would have to be inspired. Your real life experience is better than any "made up" advertisement.

[Tim M Tuttle]

The bulk of my tools are from a 14 piece Craftsman set I got in 2004. I upgraded the batteries to lithium earlier this year. The drill and driver work great. The rest in the set are worthless. Going to be upgrading to a new platform shortly and Milwaukee is on the list. However, I bought a Dewalt Flexvolt grinder earlier this year which came with two batteries so I am already knee deep in Dewalt.

It surprises me that Home Depot's major push in your area is Milwaukee. I go to two or three different HDs in this area and they all push Dewalt as much or more than Milwaukee.

[Larry Edgerton]

Throw the Dewalts away and start over. No hurricane like Malcolm, but I use my tools to put food on the table, and have switched to Milwaukee totally.

Malcolm, good to hear you are OK. Hell of a deal.......